We're going to be sailing the southern carribean on Princess in July. We are visiting, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Grenada, Isla Margarita and Aruba. Any suggestions for island tours or what each island has to offer??? Also if you have any direct contacts for booking tours (would prefer not to do it through the cruiseline) I would appreciate them.

Charmane,
While you are in St. Thomas do not miss Coral World. None of the ship tours show it, but is is wonderful. Alarge towere that goes all the way to the ocean floor and you can look out the glass windows . It is like a submarine. They also have much more. On the dock when you disembark, just ask any of the cabs or vans to go there. The cab ride is 8.00 and it is 20.00 each to get in. Plan on two or three hours there at least.

I recently was on a Celebrity cruise to the s. caribbean. St. Thomas is wonderful, make sure you save time for shopping. If you want to swim go to Coki Beach, it is small and really beautiful. Grenada is not that great, I really don't understand why cruise-lines put this island on iteneraries. There are many aggressive spice sellers and the men there are VERY rude and perverted, I would recommend staying on the ship that day or just going to the beach. There isnt much to do in Grenada.

Charmane---
Please do something in Grenada. It is a beautiful island. The harbor there is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the Caribbean. The island is lush and green with mountains, waterfalls, etc. It's known as the " spice isle " due to the large spice industry. I have been there 3 times and would love to go back. Take a tour ,either on your own or a ships tour but don't stay on the ship. That would a total waste. No, it's not a St. Thomas with a thousand jewlery stores but very beautiful in another way.

I totally agree with you Ron, Grenada is a very beautiful island and should not be missed. I would not venture out on my own though because the people do tend to be aggressive and that may be intimadating. The beaches are also very beautiful my daughter found a starfish while snorkeling. The people do approach you trying to sell everything and anything but a polite no is fine and they leave. A ships tour is always a good idea if you are unsure about the island. I think your itinerary sounds wonderful. What ship? Have a great time.

Grenada: agree with Ron - very lush gorgeous interior, beautiful beaches. There are beach vendors and vendors at the cruise ship dock but a polite no thanks works fine. Buy some spices - the prices are VERY good if you look around a bit.
St. Kitt's: I highly recommend taking a taxi tour that includes Brimstone Hill (a Unesco World Heritage site). The fort is beautifully restored and the views are great.
Isla Margarita: take a tour - parts of the island are lovely and there are some nice beaches (Playa El Agua and near Juan Griego)
Aruba: geat beaches. Casibiri Rocks are interesting too.

agree with the others that Grenada is a beautiful island - do a ships tour up into the rainforest and spice plantations.
St. Thomas - Coki Beach & Coral World are very nice. Our personal preference for beaches are over on St. John Island. Take a cab from the pier to the port, then take the water taxi over to St. John - grab another cab to any of the beaches all are beautiful.

Another tip for Granada... skip the spice vendors right at the dock as they are not as fresh as others. We bought our spices at Dot's (right beside Nutmeg restaurant at the harbour) and everything is vacuum sealed and very fresh. Their vanilla is also fabulous.
Also, the banana daquaris at the Nutmeg are to die for! We went there for lunch and had a couple drinks each and for four of us the bill was under $25. Very reasonable and we had a table right at the open window overlooking the docks and harbour. I highly recommend it.
The previous comments are quite accurate about the cab drivers, though. We had one guy follow us for about 20 minutes and keeping others at bay. It was very annoying. It is honestly about a 5 minute walk from the harbour to the spice market so don't let them con you into a cab ride there. We walked around quite a bit and then hired an airconditioned bus to take the four of us on a 2 hour tour of the island for $30 total. He took us all through the island, showing us waterfalls, landmarks, etc. and let us stop whenever we wanted to take photos. He gave us a history of the island and was very entertaining.

In St. Thomas, take a taxi into the shopping district. There you will be approached by many friendly independent tour operators, they will take you on a tour of the island, and are cheaper than the ones the ship sells.

Most of them wind their way around and up to Mountain Top. They have great banana daquiris up there, and the views are unreal! Below you, you will see Magens Bay. Its beautiful, our guide went out of his way to drop us off there, and we took a safari truck cab back to the boat after a couple of hours there. Its a beautiful beach, crystal clear water calm water. And there are lifeguards, and restrooms. Its a public park, so there are no solicitors. Not that we saw any in St Thomas anyway, other than tour operators.

Also, you may want to consider St. John, tell your taxi drive you want to take the ferry to St. John from Red Hook. St. John is beautiful. Go to Trunk Bay, its considered one of the most beautiful in the caribbean, although Magens is in that list as well.

You can also get an inexpensive tour of St. Kitts, simply by walking off the boat. Several independent tour operators will drive you all around the island. There is one place where lava once meet the ocean leaving beautiful black cliffs.

On Isla Margarita you may want to book an excursion through the cruise. We didn't have that much time in port and we didn't notice any indpendent tour operators near the port. We enjoyed a tour that included a mangrove boat ride and a stop at a garden.

There is lots to do on Aruba. You can have a taxi driver take you everywhere. We enjoyed a visit to a butterfly farm and snorkling in the afternoon.

hi
St thomas best place for shopping specially Diamond & Gold also Do not forget to go to Maginsbay beach . one of the best beach in the world its very beautiful.
i do not know how long you are going to be there. get a chance to get onto cable car by the Havensite mall see the beatiful scenery .i had many drinks there i got nice memories in st thomas

Grenada nice waterfall and rain forest to see also take a water taxi to Grandens beach its a beatiful beach

St kitt I used to cycle to beach . nice beach also great scenery while sailling to the island

St Kitts - DO the train tour!
It was awesome!!!!
A little pricey but worth every penny.
It was so beautiful and we got FABULOUS photos.
The train is modern and has nice clean bathrooms.
It goes as at a nice pace and the guides are wonderful, they point out everything.
You go through sugar cane fields and and see so much of what this beautiful island has to offer. We would go back on a land vacation just because we took this tour and saw how lovely this island is.
The price of the train includes beverage too, sodas, water, alcohol, and they are generous.
The tour I believe was about 3 hours total.
It was a very nice way to see and learn about the island.